Dimension

by Shay Zana

  DIMENSION

  VOLUME I OF THE DIMENSION SAGA

  BY SHAY ZANA

  Contents

  Prologue

  Part I: The Arrival

  1: The Gods of the Stars. 2: The Calm before the Storm. 3: Reignite the Stars. 4: The End of the Pilgrimage. 5: Ricochet. 6: We Walk the Shadows. 7: Surrender to Hope. 8: Olympus. 9: Into the Wild. 10: The Marauding Exile. 11: Operation: Ghost Tempest. 12: Predator and Prey. 13: The Ancient Ciphers. 14: Forerunner of Distortion. 15: Guardian Virus. 16: Welcome to the Jungle. 17: The Divide. 18: Mobilize. 19: Firefight. 20: Olympus Burning. 21: Falling Moons. 22: The Flying Eagle. 23: Aftermath. 24: Elixir. 25: Disturbia. 26: The Demons.

  Part II: The War

  27: We are Stardust. 28: The Gathering. 29: Alliance. 30: The Battle of Kronos. 31: Zero Gravity. 32: Distorted Cosmology. 33: Paragon Projectile. 34: Ventilation. 35: Entity Supernova. 36: The Oceanus. 37: Collision. 38: Dark Rift. 39: Alien City. 40: To the Sea. 41: Babylon Skycity. 42: Whispers in the Stars. 43: Thieves of the Sun. 44: Extinction Level Event. 45: Return. 46: Spatial Distortion. 47: The Temple of Anzac. 48: Supersoldier. 49: Mind over Matter. 50: The Fall. 51: Escape. 52: King of the Galaxy.

  Part III: The Mission

  53: Reminisce. 54: The Dark between Stars. 55: Stars within Stars. 56: Stranded. 57: A Dance of Minds. 58: Brutus Superior. 59: The Key. 60: Change of Plans. 61: Paragon Down. 62: Dimensional Shifting. 63: Mind Warrior. 64: The Sphere Core. 65: The Sacrifice. 66: The Star of the Gods.

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  First I have to thank a group of people who inspired not only this story, but awakened my love for writing that had been dormant for many years. Without all of you, Dimension would exist only in my crazy dreams. You all know who you are.

  Next I would like to thank the very talented Katie Fleming for not only illustrating Dimension’s cover art, but for putting up with my indecisive scatter-brain!

  My parents for dealing with my moods, and for supporting and encouraging me throughout the years of developing my skills and the rocky road it has taken me on. Sorry for being snappy!

  Have to thank Inky, my cat, who passed away. She would keep me company when I wrote at night, curled up on my bed. Miss you. R.I.P.

  And last but not least, my Tom. Your bad jokes always make me laugh.

  Follow me on Twitter: @AuthorShayZana

  Like Dimension on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ZodiacDimension

  For Tom, my first fan, my rock, and my love.

  And for my parents, who never let me give up.

  PROLOGUE

  Nera sends scouts of its white rays upon the lands of Nefnala. The transparent forest ignites from within as the star fuels it with radiance, the luscious foliage escalating to a translucent state. The rich panorama of Nefnala, the planet of my people, comes to life.

  I spear ahead through the landscape, armed only with my dagger, my hand bloody as it clutches the hilt of the blade. My bare feet ache as they tread over harsh jagged stones and slip through river beds, and my warpaint has long since washed away in the waters of my land, leaving only smeared remnants on my skin.

  My people are dying. I feel them in my mind, sense their agony, breathe their pain with each heave through my lungs.

  “Ziva!” I call for my elder sister, her wisdom always guidance, her strength always a shield. “Ziva!”

  I feel the heat, smell the black smoke, hear the screams of burning flesh, taste the fear of acrid fumes that permeate the air. The planet is suffocating. Nefnala is dying.

  I shriek as I mount the cliff ahead, overlooking the entirety of my clan’s territory. The lands blaze in thick fire, ash roiling into the skies where Nera reveals colliding moons that once orbited gracefully. The reek of flames fills my nose and clings to my soul, and the distant destruction across the vast ocean of space forces a cry of anguish from my throat. I collapse to my hands and knees, unable to endure.

  “Nefnala...” My home.

  My gods weep with me as they share this all through my consciousness. A vision or a nightmare?

  Peaceful sleep eludes me these nights of our pilgrimage.

  Humanity; we are alone in the universe. Alone with sapience. Alone with imagination. Alone with evolution. Alone with technology. Alone with love. They tell us we are unique, that there are no others in the universe like us, that our existence is something of a miracle or a flaw in nature. We have found no others like us, no trace of anything like us ever existing. Are we truly alone?

  We are protected by a sodality of beings. Some call them an advanced species, others call them gods. All call them the Zodiacs, our eternal guardians of life, keeping everything in balance, guiding us away from wars of greed, power and insanity. Nature is free to its rightful worlds, and we are guided to live in harmony.

  But not all of us are united in this harmonic utopia. A rivalry has kept humanity locked in a war of views, and although the Zodiacs try to guide this often bloody conflict down a gentler path, humans will be humans, and not even gods can change that.

  I, Kitera of the bloodline of Kiara, am a Cipher. I was sent on this mission with four others.

  My Paragons.

  My task is to guide them, protect them, keep them sane, and be the liaison between us and the Zodiacs.

  We voyage through the emptiness of space on a mission tasked to us by the Zodiacs.

  Four Paragons and their Cipher, sent to reignite the stars.

  PART I: THE ARRIVAL

  THE GODS OF THE STARS

  The galaxy rotates in its harmony with the vacuity of space, divine to behold with clear eyes. Stars dance in their pirouettes, giving birth to life. Stardust forms cradles, where nature can have its way.

  The crew stand amongst each other, staring idly at the majestic galaxy before them. The stars in the galaxy ahead are dying, and they must be reignited.

  But their mission details are shrouded in mystery.

  Before them drifts their destination, bursting with heavenly bodies and radiant stars. Scattered Planet, the largest galaxy to be explored and inhabited by mankind, is revealed by their stellarium as the organic vessel interprets their curiosity. From the observatory within Altair, it is difficult to identify the specific nebulae and clusters from this distance, and the vessel senses such desire.

  A starburst of light generates from the centre of the holographic star map, blooming out to form a glittering representation of the galaxy. They are taken on an artificial journey through the stars, planets, and nebula gases. The crescendo of colours and translucent objects fill the observatory and immerse them intensely, filtering out the bursting magnitudes of blinding light. Altair shows them each their own designated locations in Scattered Planet and the various hotspots where their mission will take them.

  Some of the Paragons watch in honour, wonder, and thrill, but others with anger at the futility of the mission. The initial briefing had been sketchy at best, but now their link with the Zodiacs is faltering.

  The Zodiacs elected them specifically for this task, providing them with the inspiration that they were the only individuals capable of performing their duty to optimal satisfaction. Some of the men see their fate as an honour to serve for the greater good of the universe, but others see it as a hopeless case, impossible to succeed, shrouded in a hidden agenda.

  I watch as the enlarged stars burn their fuel and thread paths through each other, carving out orbits dictated by gravity in a weightless sea.

  Without these stars, life will not exist. The cause is unknown. Their masses are not faltering, their heat and radiation outputs are sustaining themselves, and the tug of their gravitational fields remains undisrupted. Our scientific evidence is redundant.

  All we know, is that we must enkindle anew what is swiftl
y withering, and we will be guided by the Zodiacs, the gods of the stars.

  We set out for this task nearly seven earthen years ago. We have travelled all this time aboard our loyal Altair with our primary objective; to save Scattered Planet from extinction. Secondary orders are to evacuate as many human inhabitants of the galaxy as possible in preparation of the event that our main objective is to fail.

  As the link to the Zodiacs, a decipherer of messages, I must find the key, the answer to reigniting the dying embers of the stars.

  My Paragon warriors are courageous, powerful, but human. I worry for them. Are they prepared for this?

  Am I?

  "Beautiful," Kitera whispers out as the stellarium vanishes and they can now see the Scattered Planet Galaxy through the observatory window again, magnified courtesy of Altair. She steps forward from her warriors and approaches the transparent skin of Altair, her golden jewellery and many dangling diamonds glistening around her intricate beige robes. She is mesmerized by the colossal galaxy in the distance, its dazzling allurement hiding its true condition.

  Deo watches from behind as his Cipher presses a small palm to the screen, as if touching the galaxy. His frown conveys his apathetic outlook on the mission. He never understands her thoughts about the universe, it is what it is, just a cluster-fuck of stars.

  A faint bleep echoes through the walls, joined by a soft flash of cyan and a caressing rumble of the floor beneath their feet. A holographic distortion appears in front of Kitera's vision. She frowns at the disturbance, thinking it merely a glitch in Altair’s systems.

  "How long until we reach the outer rim?" Boone asks as he steps up beside her, flicking away the distortion before her eyes as if it were a fly. It is flung away just like a fly as a result.

  "Months,” she answers. “Altair’s fluctuating speed levels make an exact estimate difficult. The Zodiacs’ messages are not clear.” In truth, the Zodiacs ceased their messages to her a long time ago, but to confide in her Paragons would only destroy their confidence. “The time for your Sacrifices is nearing,” she adds somewhat ethereally, changing the subject.

  Boone’s eyebrows perk. "To be honest, I've never felt as anxious to commit suicide over the past few years... but no offence, Altair, you've been an awesome ride none-the-less." He pats at the screen, sending out ripples of energy like water.

  “Perform the Sacrifice,” Mazayus corrects Boone’s crude interpretation of the stellar ritual.

  As Boone gives a nonchalant shrug, Kitera passes a thanking glance at Mazayus. The defacto leader of the expedition, Mazayus does the job of keeping the crew in line. She watches as his dark features notice her, passing back a nod in her direction.

  After a considerable silence, Boone decides it is up to him to break it. "We should make an event of this," he announces with a hint of a smile and a glint in his green eyes, looking at each of them hopefully. "We've made it this far and no one’s been flushed out the airlock yet, and some of you need to loosen up a little. No one in particular." Obviously he means everyone but himself.

  Silence.

  Boone tries again. "Come on, guys. Natheus, you in?"

  This utters a quiet grunt from Natheus, who is standing against the door frame of the observatory, owning a stern but slightly cast down emanation. He simply just shakes his head, his brown ponytail swaying slightly against the movement at the nape of his neck.

  Before Boone can spit out more suggestions, Deo gives a grumble and shakes his head, glaring at Boone with fiery brown eyes that could burn apart a lesser warrior. "Celebrate?" he challenges with a thick Martian accent, generated by the colonization of North American, Australian, and Scottish allies. "That fact that the galaxy is fucked?”

  “The fact that you haven’t rage quit and killed us all,” Boone counters with a mocking tongue.

  Deo’s upper lip curls in disdain, like the snarl of a wolf. “Don’t test me,” he bites quietly, turning back to the stars before sighing. “Look, we all know your cheerleader of nature over there can't get a damn answer from the Zodiacs,” all eyes go to Kitera before scooting back to him, “and that leaves us out to dry when time’s up. We went into this with shit all details, a Cipher that spends more time talking with her gods than she does with actual human beings, and nothing to show for it. I know I’m not the only one that sits up at night wishing I’d never stepped aboard. Get your heads outta your arses, this mission isn’t right, and you all know it." After dumping himself down in a chair, Deo runs a tense hand through his scruffy bronze hair as it falls in his face, sighing out hot air. All this pent up frustration is beginning to spill over, and it was lucky he had restrained himself from getting right in his Cipher’s face and telling her his exact thoughts in graphic, unholy detail.

  Kitera’s devoted gaze shifts from the stars and drifts over to the troubled man, his lament visibly filling his powerful body. She has yet to understand him fully, but she senses wounds behind that hard exterior. Healed wounds, but very much still lurking. Scars.

  Mazayus glares at Deo a little more intently than Kitera, though his calm facade betrays all evidence of disapproval, his dark skin causing his figure to absorb the light like a pillar of fortitude. "You sound like you want to join up with the UEU, Deo. Watch your tongue," he warns with an even tone.

  Deo just angles his neck slightly to cast a bitter expression at Mazayus, the two sharing inner confrontations before Deo eventually looks away from the older and wiser man, accepting the scolding.

  Mazayus has always been adept at keeping Deo’s hot temper in check. Kitera senses some sort of bond between the two, with Mazayus’ miraculous power over Deo. She has never plucked up the intrusiveness to ask, however.

  She turns back to the stars, pondering on her failings to connect with the Zodiacs. She worries about the Paragons. Some of them seem to be getting tense, which is understandable under the circumstances, even with their training, and doubled by the frustration of living aboard an ikamanu for seven years, in and out of cryo to conserve resources. But it is up to her to keep them all united and focused, and she cannot do that without the Zodiacs.

  Although the room has fallen quiet again, the magnified view of Scattered Planet through the transparent portion of Altair's skin seems to fill the room with peaceful noise. None of the five looking out at it have ever seen it before, not from this distance, this is the closest any of them have ever been to the large galaxy. Scattered Planet is seventy one million light years in width, with no satellite galaxies, as it has either consumed all of them, or they never existed. It is a type-B spiral galaxy, and lies 5.9 billion light years from the Milky Way. Being the second most human populated galaxy in the universe after the Milky Way, Scattered Planet is acknowledged as one of the superior seats in universal civilisation. Too bad it is dying.

  Finding himself surprisingly awestruck by Scattered Planet, Deo scratches the light facial hair stippling his cheek and drags a hand down his face, sighing again. "Your fucking gods made a shitty choice picking me.” That was angled at Kitera, who angles an icy silence back at him.

  Mazayus takes a step toward him, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. "The Zodiacs see your potential. We're all here for the same reason, even if it seems impossible."

  Deo does not respond, but continues looking out at Scattered Planet in the distance, wishing he could have the faith of everyone else, blind or not.

  The room falls silent once again, a habit they have developed over the long years of travel, and increasing the closer they get to Scattered Planet. Many things pass through their minds.

  Why are the stars dying? Why are the Zodiacs distant? What is the key?

  Natheus remains buried in shadow, staring out at the glimmering galaxy. "We are all just stardust.”

  THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

  An inner consciousness ruptures, giving the sense of vertigo from within. Mystical and unfathomable reverberations pulse around and enwrap. Inexplicable symmetry, ethereal hues and awe inspiring phenomenon, co
lliding and expanding. The mind is of rapture, but now implodes and is absent.

  Kitera sits with crossed legs on the dark floor of the observatory, attempting to commune with the Zodiacs. Connecting with the Zodiacs is no simple task. It requires immense focus and concentration, meditations to be equal with them. The Zodiacs’ existence is beyond the physical world, and to reach them means to let go of one’s physical self, something only the Ciphers are capable of doing to this level. But even they cannot begin to comprehend the things they experience, and that is partly why the Ciphers are kept in isolation, so that their minds can meld with the Zodiacs.

  Some see the Zodiacs’ existence as scientific, the evolution of a species advancing beyond physical form, but many have translated their existence into spiritual belief, the transcendence of life. Gods, or advanced aliens? The Ciphers respect all beliefs, but encourage co-operation, regardless.

  It was the Ciphers who founded Serenity, the union that follows the Zodiacs loyally, and it is the Ciphers who guide the willing populations of humanity, their voices pure with the sacred guidance of the gods. Kitera’s people are viewed almost as mythological beings, as no Cipher has ever been revealed visually. She is the first Cipher to ever leave isolation and be seen by others since the Ciphers began to isolate themselves.

  These cybernetically and biologically enhanced supersoldiers she travels with were unsure of what to expect when they first greeted her, and they still now are unsure, even after spending seven years together. She feels she intimidates them, invokes feelings of bizarreness, mystery, and superstition, something they may never grow accustomed to. In fairness, their time has been broken up by bouts of cryo-stasis. Usually, only one or two are awake for several months at a time, not allowing much time for personal development. But now, so close to their destination, none wish to spend their remaining days in cryo.